Delhi's major entry points saw massive traffic congestion on Sunday as the city's new winter anti-pollution restrictions took effect, with vehicles lining up in long queues along the Delhi-Gurugram (NH-48) and Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) borders while traffic police and enforcement personnel checked incoming traffic.

Source: Daily Jagran (with PTI inputs)

Multi-kilometre jams were reported near MCD toll booths as officials stopped non-compliant vehicles, leaving commuters stranded for hours. One commuter posted that they had been stuck at the Delhi border for three hours and missed much of an event they were travelling to attend.

On the Gurugram side, Mirror Now reported that the gridlock stretched from IFFCO Chowk to the Sirhaul border and brought the Delhi-bound carriageway of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway to a near-standstill, with buses, cars and two-wheelers trapped for hours.

Source: Mirror Now

Gurugram's Assistant Commissioner of Police (Highways) Satyapal Yadav said the intensive checking drive was a proactive measure to prepare motorists for the new anti-pollution mandates, and that the public had been informed in advance. Buses carrying supporters to a political rally at Ramlila Maidan and three pre-planned 15-to-20-minute blocks near Khandasa village for work on a 66 kV transmission line added to the congestion, Mirror Now reported.

The snarls coincided with Delhi's Air Quality Index deteriorating to 261, categorised as 'poor' — the worst reading of the season so far and the highest in 198 days, matching levels last recorded on July 12. Of 57 monitoring stations, 22 recorded 'very poor' air, 21 'poor' and 14 'moderate', with Jahangirpuri the worst at 378, driven primarily by PM2.5.

Under the winter measures running from November 1 to February 28, vehicles registered outside Delhi meeting BS-IV or older emission standards face strict entry bans, monitored by Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras and 250 enforcement personnel at 13 key toll plazas including Ghazipur, Singhu, Tikri and Badarpur, with e-challans and impounding for non-compliant vehicles. Dust-generating demolition and outdoor construction are banned from November 1 to January 31, parking fees at authorised lots have doubled till February 28, and office attendance is capped at 50 per cent.

The Air Quality Early Warning System has forecast that Delhi's air quality is likely to remain in the 'poor' to 'very poor' range over the coming week.